Member News

Foreign Policy Releases May/June Spy Issue

Spies and spycraft fuel the imagination with intrigue—whether it’s the world’s fascination with a fictional James Bond or with a real-world Edward Snowden. Today, Foreign Policy released the May/June issue, diving into the issues behind today’s “Golden Age of Surveillance” and exploring what espionage means to global security. In this 88-page Spy Issue, FP writers and contributors examine the spy game in the 21st Century as “nations expend vast treasure and take extreme risks to root out secrets.” FEATURES INCLUDE: • Trevor...

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Chapter News

Unleash innovation to spur growth in Europe

Improving Europe's capacity to innovate and be globally competitive requires further efforts to encourage disruptive ideas and foster their commercial up-take. These are some of the conclusions to be drawn from the latest ranking of innovation performance across Europe. The European Commission's Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015 reveals that the EU’s overall level of innovation has remained stable. However, the crisis has left an impact on the private sector's innovative activity: the number of innovative firms is in decline, as are...

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Member News, News

NY GRANT CO. NEWS ALERT: NYC Incentive Programs Expire June 30th!

All of New York City’s as-of-right economic incentive programs are due to expire soon. This means that benefits used to attract and retain businesses throughout the five boroughs are at stake. If your company has projects which may be eligible for these benefits, please take note. Agreements and applications must be made 2 weeks before these programs expire. Expiring NYC Incentive Programs (June 30th) Relocation Employment Assistance Program (REAP): Provides up to $3,000 per employee per year for 12 years for companies...

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Member News

SEC on Confidentiality Agreements

Keeping its promise announced last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, 2015, released a cease-and-desist order ("Order") declaring illegal a publicly traded company's use of a confidentiality agreement that prohibited employees during an internal investigation from discussing—whether inside or outside the company without legal approval—the substance of their interviews involving potentially illegal or unethical conduct by the company or its employees. The SEC also levied a $130,000.00 civil penalty against the company. The SEC Office of the...

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Chapter News

A Digital Single Market for Europe: Commission sets out 16 initiatives to make it happen

The Internet and digital technologies are transforming our world – in every walk of life and in every line of business. Europe must embrace the digital revolution and open up digital opportunities for people and businesses. How? By using the power of the EU's Single Market. Today, the European Commission unveiled its detailed plans to create a Digital Single Market, thereby delivering on one of its top priorities. At present, barriers online mean citizens miss out on goods and services:...

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Chapter News

Spring 2015 Economic Forecast for EU: Tailwinds support the recovery

Brussels, 05 May 2015 -- Economic growth in the European Union is benefitting from positive economic tailwinds. According to the European Commission's Spring 2015 Economic Forecast, these short-term factors are boosting an otherwise mild cyclical upswing in the EU. Europe’s economies are benefitting from many supporting factors at once. Oil prices remain relatively low, global growth is steady, the euro has continued to depreciate, and economic policies in the EU are supportive. On the monetary side, quantitative easing by the European...

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Member News

Irish Government Enters the Legal Battlefield in International Fight over Email Disclosure

In the on-going saga that is Microsoft Corporation v. United States of America, the Irish Government (“Ireland”) has made the decision to enter the fray. Late last year, Ireland commenced its own chapter by filing papers to highlight issues of sovereignty and mechanisms for international disclosure. This case, as described in our previous post, centres on the request by US authorities for the disclosure of emails held on Dublin-based servers. The case has attracted many such contributions, particularly from...

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Chapter News

IDB and European Investment Bank establish facilities to support internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises

-- Loans will support trade and investment of SMEs in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the creation of two facilities that will finance the international expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. EIB President Werner Hoyer and IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno signed a document in Cologne to formalize the agreement. Financing for the IDB’s Internationalization of SMEs Financing Facility will...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Former Ambassadors Support TTIP, TPA In Letter To Congressional Leadership

  "As senior officials in the transatlantic relationship, former US Ambassadors to European countries, the European Union, and NATO who served under Republican and Democratic administrations, each of us has witnessed first-hand the tremendous diplomatic, economic, and security benefits that transatlantic relations bring the United States." - 17 former US Ambassadors In their letter to Congress, the former Ambassadors urge the lawmakers to pass the new TPA bill and push for a quick and successful completion of TTIP. The Ambassadors argue...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

European Commission: TTIP Round 9 – Final Day

“This week we have also stepped up our work in the rules area. We consider that an important element of TTIP should be the development of rules, not only to govern our bilateral trade relationship, but also to contribute to global rules and standards in areas such as competition, energy and raw materials or sustainable development, to name a few.” – EU Chief Negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero The Chief Negotiator for the European Union, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, outlined the...

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